On wednesday night I started the year with a mid-January trail race at Mendon Ponds. Although billed as part of the ‘Snow Cheap’ series, some unseasonably warm weather took away any elements of ice and snow, and left us instead with a mud run in the dark.
I finished the course in 30:11 which was quick enough for a 64th place finish.
Ironically the weather was much nicer than my last race at this park in mid-November. Perhaps my next race will be a proper run in the snow.
On Wednesday night I returned to Webster Park to run my second Snow Cheap race of the year. I finished in 30:51 which was a bit quicker than my time from January which I think was the same course but in the opposite direction.
The hallmark of this race was the snow and ice. The weather had calmed down by the time the race started, but for those of us without metal spikes in our shoes our top speed was pretty limited. I slipped twice during the race, and had to walk a few of the inclines just to avoid sliding down.
Webster Park is one of my favorite places to run and hopefully I can get back there again after all the snow has melted.
Wednesday night I ran my first race of the year in Webster Park. While advertised as a snow race, everything had melted resulting in a run through the mud (and the dark). I finished the three and a halfish mile race in 34:27.
It has been almost 4 months since my last trail race so it was nice to be running through the woods again even if I couldn’t quite see where I was going. I did split my head open after failing to duck a branch, but what slowed me down the most was the mud. It was hard to find traction, and often dark enough that you wouldn’t see the pits you were running into in time to avoid them.
No plans yet for my next race, but I am hoping to run at least 20 in 2019.
On Wednesday night I ran in the Snow Cheap race in Seneca Park and finished in 31:27. Not only was this my first race of 2018, it was my first run of the year as the single digit temperatures had kept me inside since before Christmas.
On race night the weather was actually quite nice, but the trails were still 100% packed with snow. For the first mile I did ok, as I could run a bit to the side of the path where I could get some traction despite the snow being deeper. Things got worse as the trail narrowed and at the half way point I started falling over occasionally, including a pair of downhills where I didn’t even make an attempt to remain upright.
So overall it wasn’t my best run, but after not doing any races since Thanksgiving I was just happy to be back at it.
On Wednesday night I ran another winter trail race at Cobbs Hill. With a course that was significantly different from the last two times, I finished in 22:53. This put me in 58th place in the race, which is better than the last two races on both an overall and a percentile basis.
I felt good through the race, and for the first time in quite a while I didn’t have to worry about ice. I actually paced myself a little bit too slow as the course was a bit shorter than I had anticipated.
On Wednesday night I ran my second Snow Cheap race this winter, and my first race of 2017. This was two laps through the snow of Cobbs Hill Park.
My finishing time of 40:12 was slightly quicker than my last race (albeit on a slightly different course). Despite this I didn’t feel to great in this race as my limited running over the past month was catching up to me. Most of the improvement in my time is probably due to me simply managing to finish the two laps without falling.
On Wednesday night I ran the Snow Cheap race at Cobbs Hill Park. I finished the 3.7ish miles in 41:06 which placed me 77th overall.
For my first race in over a month, I felt ok. I was way too overdressed, and was overheating on the first lap. I also fell twice, on the icy downhill the first lap, and after tripping over something in the woods towards the end of the second lap. You can’t really tell too much from a night trail race over the snow, but at least these events are fun. I will probably do a few more in the beginning of 2017.
In what is hopefully my final cold weather race of the year, I finished the two laps of Wednesday’s Snow Cheap race in 42 minutes. The course at Cobb’s Hill was a mess of snow, ice, and rain that made running difficult for many parts of it. Yet, I only took one real fall.
I finished in 62nd place, which puts me in the top third of finishers. My next few races should be back on the road, where I will not have to spend as much effort watching my steps.
On Wednesday I ran the Snow Cheap race at Cobb’s Hill Park. Unlike the last race in this series, this time there actually was snow. Not so much snow that the race was all that different from a typical trails run, but enough to make me slow down on the downhills, and enough to make the course pretty.
A different course than last time, I finished the race in 31:00 which placed me in the top 35% of finishers.
On Wednesday I ran the first race of this year’s Snow Cheap series at Cobb’s Hill Park. Emphasis on the word hill. Just for fun the course even finished with a twenty foot (no seriously 20 feet) hill of leaves to run over.
The course was roughly three miles, which leaves me happy with my time of 25:18. This was significantly faster than I finished the first leg of the Dirt Cheap Stage Race under similar conditions in November.
I placed 87th in the race, which places me in the top quartile of all runners. Maybe next time, there will even be snow.
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